Hatori's Child
by Katsuki Shizenno
Summary: Hatori Sohma accidently finds a young girl while walking in the park one day. He had never thought that healing someone else's broken heart would help ease his own pain. Slightly related to my other X-over, "A Strawberry Dropped In the Sand."
1. Chapter 1

**_I do not own Fruits Basket or Tokyo Mew Mew_**

It was a snowy evening. Hatori Sohma was walking through the park. The snow always made him feel gloomy and at loss. He wished, slightly, that he had someone to keep him company instead of being alone on cold, snowy days like those. Suddenly, Hatori heard a small sound like a whimper. He followed it, trudging through the snow until he came upon a girl. A little girl curled up in the snow. She shivered and whimpered again. Her auburn pigtails and the red ribbons that held them in place were covered in snow.

Hatori touched her, cold, tear-stained cheek.

She moved slightly. Her brown eyes fluttered open and stared at the stranger, fear shining in them.

Hatori picked up the shivering girl.

She tensed.

"It's okay," he told her. "Don't be afraid."

He felt her relax in his arms.

He brushed the snow off her pigtails and carried her to his home.

At his house, Hatori wrapped her in blankets and put her on his bed. He pondered what to do with the girl.

He decided what was best at the moment was to get her some food.

He made a little ramen and bought it to her.

The girl stared between him and the food, seemingly not knowing what to do.

"It's okay," Hatori coaxed. "Go ahead and eat."

The girl hesitated but then ate.

Once she was done she stared curiously at the man who had helped her.

Hatori smiled at her.

"My name is Hatori Sohma," he said.

The girl stared again.

"I'm Ichigo Momomiya, nya," the girl said.

Hatori chuckled at the way she said "nya."

"Where do you live, Ichigo-san?" he asked.

Ichigo shook her head, resistibly.

"You don't want to go home?" Hatori asked.

She shook her head again.

Hatori knew he couldn't just throw her out on the streets.

"Alright," he said. "You can stay tonight, then."

Hatori ruffled her hair.

Ichigo smiled.

After she fell asleep that night, Hatori pondered where she had come from. He wanted to know why she didn't want to return. But he would soon find out it wasn't the most pleasant of stories.

_**A/N: Thanks for reading ch. 1. "Nya" means 'meow' or 'mew.'**_

_**~Katsuki Shizenno **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I do not own Fruits Basket or Tokyo Mew Mew**_

It was morning. The fresh snow still frosted the windowpanes and it was still slightly cloudy from the snow of the night before. Thankfully, in Hatori Sohma's house it was warm. Hatori awoke to find himself on the sofa, and pondered how he had come to sleep there. Then he remembered the girl he had carried home the previous night.

He got out of bed. He knew he needed to get some breakfast made.

As he made his way to the kitchen, he peeped inside his room. The Ichigo was still sleeping; he needed to be quiet so she could rest. She needed it.

He made his way to the kitchen and got started on a rice omelette and some miso soup. "Now, where is that pan?" he said. He began searching the cabinets. He found it, but only after it crashed to the floor.

Hatori winced.

Suddenly, Hatori heard footsteps and turned to see Ichigo standing in the kitchen doorway, dressed in the kimono he had given her to sleep in. She stared, puzzled.

Hatori sighed.

"Sorry," he said.

Ichigo looked at him for a moment and then picked up the pan.

"I can help," she smiled.

"Okay," Hatori agreed. "If you want."

Ichigo was a bit clumsy as she cooked but Hatori helped her with her mistakes and guided her.

Everything went well, until Ichigo tripped. And you know what? She fell straight into Hatori's arms.

Hatori braced, knowing he would change in front of her. Everything would be over; Akito would probably hurt her.

"Hatori-san?" Ichigo asked. "Are you okay?"

Hatori noticed he hadn't changed. Why didn't he?

"Yes," Hatori finally replied. "I'm okay."

He got to his feet, still confused. Now that he thought about it, he had picked Ichigo up in the park but he had never changed. He began to cook again. As long as Akito didn't know, it would be fine.

Little did Hatori know that a little bird was watching…

* * *

Later on that day, Ichigo followed Hatori to the supermarket. She was cheery and smiling, and made Hatori feel happy as well. As they shopped she would grab things from his list and show him helpful things he may need. He loved having her around and she felt the same about him.

When they returned home, Hatori began to put the groceries away, but then noticed the time.

"Ichigo," he called.

"Yes," she stepped into the kitchen.

"We need to take you home, okay."

A sudden rush of fear and despair appeared in her eyes.

"No," she said. "No don't! Don't take me home! Let me stay. Hatori-san!"

Hatori was shocked by her sudden outburst, tears streaming down her saddened face. She was on the floor now, despairing more than before.

"Ichigo," Hatori moved to the floor. "Ichigo. It's okay. Don't cry."

Ichigo flung herself into Hatori's arms.

"Don't make me leave," she sobbed. "I-I don't want to."

He felt her pain, and saw her tears. It melted him, like some sort of weakening power. Hatori held her tight as he could.

He knew where his place was, why he shouldn't be caring for her at all. But, strangely enough, he couldn't break away, like a father can't abandon his child.

They stayed together that way for a long time and in the end, Hatori let her stay. He decided he would have to find out about her by himself. He couldn't hurt her anymore.

_**A/N: Thank you for reading. Sorry I took so long to update, I've been busy. ^.^; But thanks for coming anyway.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I do not own Fruits Basket or Tokyo Mew Mew**_

It was and cold afternoon on the day when Kureno returned to Akito.

Akito turned his malevolent eyes to his servant. "What did you find, Kureno?"

"Hatori is taking care of a girl," Kureno replied.

"A girl?" Akito asked, his eyes narrowing. "Where did she come from, what age is she?"

"He seems to have found her, when he brought her back to the estate she was covered in snow. She seems to be only 12. Oh. And, she doesn't change when he embraces her."

"What?!"

Akito was quickly on his feet. His mind raced with thoughts, _The curse. Did it break? Is Hatori free too?_

Akito looked to Kureno.

"Are they going anywhere today?" he asked.

"Yes," Kureno replied. "To the park."

"I'm going to check up on them. I'll be back later."

* * *

At the park Hatori was teaching Ichigo how to ice skate, guiding her across the frozen pond. No one was there so it was perfect for learning. Hatori had been watching Ichigo closely for the last few days. He was looking for answers. He was hoping she would mention where she lived or some type of personal information so he could return her to her family.

Hatori's previous searching had just confused him more. He couldn't find any records of a Momomiya anywhere in the phone books. He didn't dare ask Ichigo since he remembered how sad she had been. Plus, there was still the question of why she didn't change when they embraced.

"Hatori-san," Ichigo said.

Hatori looked down to see Ichigo looking up, worriedly at him.

"Hatori-san," she repeated. "Is something wrong?"

Hatori smiled warmly at Ichigo. "No. Everything's fine. Are you having fun."

"Yes," she smiled brightly.

"Good."

Little did the both of them know that Akito was watching them carefully. He needed to know if the curse was broken. That's why he had brought one of his female servants with him. He told the girl to "accidentally bump into" Hatori and then leave. The servant obeyed, grabbing Hatori slightly as she passed and then leaving in a haste. Sure enough a "poof" sound followed the short embrace and Hatori turned into a seahorse.

Ichigo fell to the ground without Hatori's support. She fell right next to him. She got herself to her knees and looked, surprised, at the seahorse. She picked it up gently and studied it for a second, then she hurriedly picked up Hatori's clothes and ran back to Hatori's house.

Back at the house, she watched the seahorse, who she now presumed was Hatori, carefully as he swam in the bathtub.

"Hatori-san," she said quietly. "Are you okay? How do I change you back?"

She studied the seahorse for a reaction. Suddenly another "poof" was heard and Hatori changed back.

"Well, how ironic," Hatori said, annoyed. "This is the second time I've changed back in a bathtub. Where did you put my clothes?"

Ichigo felt her cat tail pop out. She was getting too embarrassed. She backed out of the bathroom and hid in Hatori's room, under the covers of his bed. She had to hide her tail or otherwise Hatori might kick her out. She was grateful her cat ears didn't pop out as well. A moment later Hatori walked into the room.

_That wasn't supposed to happen_. Hatori thought to himself.

He sat down in a chair next to the bed and stoked Ichigo's auburn hair. "I'm sorry. I probably scared you."

Ichigo looked at him, millions of questions whizzing through her head.

Hatori knew there was no way around it. "Have you ever heard the story of the animals of the zodiac?"

Ichigo shook her head.

Hatori then began the story and the long explanation fully aware that he would have to be even more careful of Akito and his wrath.

_**Thanks for reading everyone. :)**_

_**~Katsuki Shizenno**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_I do not own Fruits Basket or Tokyo Mew Mew_**

The next day was a Saturday. Ichigo slept in after staying up most of the night asking questions about the Zodiac and the curse. Hatori used her rest to his advantage. He began looking in her bag for anything that could lead him to know where she came from. He found a mirror, some lip balm, some tissues, a few keys on a keyring, and some other things of mostly no importance. Finally, he ran across a notepad. "Mew Mew Café, decorate for event; 8:00 a.m." was scribbled on it. He went through a few other things and found two photos. One was of Ichigo standing with a boy with black hair in London, England in front of Big Ben. He assumed it was her boyfriend. The other photo was of Ichigo, four other girls and two boys in front of a pink café that said, "Café Mew Mew." Having the name come up more than once, Hatori decided it was the best place to start searching for information. He left a note to Ichigo on the kitchen counter, put on his coat and headed out the door into the snow. Now that he thought about it, he was sure he had passed it before while on an errand to the supermarket. Thus, he headed in that direction.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Sohma estate, Akito was burning with fever. Ever since that girl had moved in with Hatori, he couldn't stay well. He needed her gone. He needed Hatori to know where he belonged. He belonged with him for eternity.

"Kureno!" Akito called, weakly.

Kureno stepped into the room, "Yes, Akito?"

"Find me more information! Anything you can find!"

"As you wish."

With this, Kureno headed out the door.

Akito clenched his fists. "I'm going to end this relationship, no matter what?! Mark my words."

* * *

Elsewhere, Hatori had finally reached the café. It was empty at that time, probably because it was only 9:30 in the morning. All of the girls working in the café were surprised to see a man walk into the café, especially so early in the morning.

A girl with green hair and glasses finally approached him. "M-May I help you?"

Hatori's mind raced back to the photo and he remembered her as one of the girls in it.

He smiled kindly, trying to make a good impression. "Do you know Ichigo Momomiya?"

All the girls' faces lit up.

"Do you know where she is?" a purple-haired girl demanded.

"Yes, I do," Hatori replied. "She's actually at my house, but she won't let me take her home."

"What's the matter with her?!" a girl with black hair in two buns snapped. "It's stupid to run away when you have nowhere to go!"

_Nowhere else to go? _Hatori thought. _What happened that she has nowhere else to go? _He thought back to her desperation to stay with him, and was instantly filled with sadness.

"Minto!" the blond boy from the photo came from a back room. "Ichigo's having a hard time. She's dealing with it as best as she can."

"A hard time?" Hatori questioned. "Can you tell me what happened? Maybe I can help her with it and get her to go home."

The boy nodded. "Sit down."

_**I hope you could identify all the characters. I doubt it was hard, since most of the girls have such unusually colored hair. LOL! As always, thanks for reading.**_

**_~Katsuki Shizenno_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew or Fruits Basket**_

"I'm Ryou Shirogane," the boy said, shaking Hatori's hand. "I'm the owner of the café and Ichigo's boss. She formerly worked here. That is, before the incident."

"Incident?" Hatori questioned.

"Yes. The day her parents died."

Hatori's eyes widened.

"They were mysteriously murdered, about a month ago," Ryou explained. No one knows who did it and what their motivation was, the matter is still under investigation. It was a school day, and Ichigo came home to find her parents, bloody and dead on the floor. Now an orphan, since she has no near relatives, she's been staying with her sensei, Yukino Ichiei-san. About a week or so after the murder of her parents took place, her boyfriend Masaya Aoyama-san was to come back to Tokyo from England, where he was studying abroad, to help comfort her. But he was involved in a car accident before he even boarded the plane to Tokyo."

Hatori immediately thought about Tohru Honda, the young girl who was staying with his cousin, Shigure. Her mother had been involved in a car accident and she was also an orphan.

"After all this," Ryou continued. "A few days ago, Ichigo ran away from Ichiei-san's house. We've been searching desperately for her."

"I found her at Yukihime park," Hatori said.

"Oh, Ichigo," the green-haired girl said, sadly.

Hatori looked up at her.

"Oh!" the girl blushed for having spoken her thoughts aloud. "It's just, Ichigo-chan and Aoyama-kun used to go there all the time."

_She was probably reminiscing_. Hatori thought. _As was I_.

"Here," Hatori said, taking a napkin up from the table. "Take my phone number. Give a copy to Ichiei-san."

He scribbled down his name and number.

"If you can think of any way to make her come home, call me," he said. "Although, she doesn't seem at all interested."

"Surely," Ryou said.

With this, Hatori thanked the everyone at the café, and left. As he stepped outside he noticed it was colder, and the clouds had darkened, seemingly with the mood of him and the others at the café. It seemed a snowstorm was on the way. He thought about Ichigo, a confused, saddened girl, all alone in his house.

He quickened his pace.

What could he do, now, to help her? Surely she was in so much pain. But why did she want to stay with him instead of those she knew and loved? Why a complete stranger, who couldn't even heal his own broken heart? He decided that fate just enjoyed toying with him.

* * *

Kureno stared out the backseat window of the moving car into the ominous clouds that threatened a heavy and dangerous snowstorm. To him, it represented Akito's approaching anger. He thought about Ichigo Momomiya and what he learned of the girl when he eavesdropped on Hatori and Ryou Shirogane's conversation. Akito had told him to find more information, so Kureno took the car, followed Hatori, got the information he needed, and then discreetly left ahead of him. Now he was on his way back to the main house and about to give Akito the news. He pitied Ichigo. It was almost like Tohru Honda all over again. Kureno knew how Akito had treated Tohru in the past and Ichigo's problems were extremely similar to Tohru's. Meaning Akito posed a similar threat to her. He wondered if he should lie to Akito. If he lied to Akito, Akito would be hurt, but if he told Akito, Ichigo would be hurt. Either way, Kureno concluded, it resulted in pain. They were all to deep into the darkness. All that was left for the future was heartache and pain. And Kureno was filled with despair.

* * *

Later on, that night, in Café Mew Mew, everyone had already went home, except Ryou and Keiichiro, Ryou's closest friend and the co-manager and chef of the café. Ryou couldn't wait to get home and in the bed. After Ichigo had run away, everyone had become, worried, tense, and saddened. He thought finding her would lift some stress from the entire situation but it just brought confusion added to the normal stress. He had no idea why Ichigo refused to return to Ichiei-sensei. Was Hatori Sohma lying about Ichigo being with him? Maybe the phone number was fake. He would have to call and check tomorrow. He couldn't stand any more stress today. Ryou was just closing up and about to step outside when Keiichiro called after him.

"It's snowing pretty heavily," he said. "Why don't we wait it out over some tea."

Ryou silently turned and sat at the table where Keiichiro was setting down some tea.

"It's chamomile," Keiichiro smiled, sitting down.

Obviously, Keiichiro had sensed how stressed Ryou was. Ryou was grateful for him.

After a few moments' silence, Keiichiro said, "Ryou."

"Yes?" Ryou responded.

"It's not like you to trust a complete stranger."

"It's unlike Ichigo as well."

"True."

"We have no other leads, Keiichiro. Even Aoyama-san is gone and if anyone could understand Ichigo, it was him."

"Yes. We all need to do as much as we can to make Ichigo-san realize we're there for her."

"But I think she already knows."

"Oh?"

"That's what makes it so confusing. If this Hatori Sohma is telling the truth, why does Ichigo want to stay with him? Does she know him? He seemed familiar with her."

"He truly did. But is he friend or foe?"

"Time will tell."

But can Hatori be a foe?

_**A/N: Thank you for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed. This fic is actually a sister story to my Naruto X-over, "A Strawberry Dropped In the Sand". :) Oh. And, so you all will know, there probably won't be any pairings in this fic. Sorry.**_

_**~Katsuki Shizenno**_


	6. Chapter 6

**_I do not own Fruits Basket or Tokyo Mew Mew_**

As Hatori approached his house, snowflakes had already started to fall from the ominous clouds. The winds had began to blow previously so the white flakes swirled around with every gust. It truly was miserable weather to be walking in so he was happy to finally step into his house. But that feeling only lasted a few seconds and then came crashing down when he noticed there was an additional person in his house. That person was none other than Shigure Sohma and he seemed to be rather engrossed in a conversation he was having with Ichigo. The both of them looked up at him with a look of pleasure.

"Ah, Ha-san," Shigure began, playfully. "How are you today? You seem rather-"

"Why are you in my house?" Hatori interrupted, now quite perturbed.

"Well, I was just heading home when I noticed a girl wandering around. It's rather dangerous for a girl to be wandering around here alone, don't you think?"

That's when it occurred to Hatori that he had never explained to Ichigo that she shouldn't be wandering around on her own. It would've been trouble if someone different had seen her; in a way, Hatori was glad it had been Shigure.

"She seems to be a nice girl," Shigure commented. "But why ever is she in your house?"

He asked the question with a puzzled tone but had a bit of a smile on his face. Hatori knew that he was in a predicament at this point. He had no choice but to tell Shigure about the girl.

Ichigo was completely unaware of what was going on and she looked confusedly between the two men. Was there something wrong? Had she done something to make someone upset?

Hatori was no more certain of what he should do next than Ichigo was of the situation.

A short while later, Ichigo had drifted off into a deep sleep, curled up on the couch. As she was sleeping, Hatori told Shigure about how he had found Ichigo in the snow and the events that took place afterwards. He told him about what had happened to her family and how she wouldn't return to her friends.

"So she won't leave?" Shigure asked.

"No," Hatori replied.

"That's a bit of a problem, don't you think?"

"Yes, I know that."

They sat in silence for a while. Shigure looked out the window at the falling snow and Hatori took a draw from his cigarette. Shigure then turned back to Hatori with a darker look in his eyes.

"Have you thought about Akito?" he looked at Hatori questioningly.

"I know the problem must be resolved as quietly as possible," Hatori said. "Akito shouldn't know-"

"Oh, but I think he already does."

Hatori exhaled sharply. "I figured that. He's been quite unwell lately."

"Yes."

Hatori paused for another moment and then continued.

"Did you tell him?" Hatori studied his friend closely.

"Oh no, not at all," Shigure smiled. "I didn't even know about the girl until just today. Perhaps it was Kureno's doing?"

"Perhaps."

Shigure looked out the window, again, at the snow and then got up from his chair.

"Well, I must be going now Ha-san, before the snow gets too bad," Shigure put on his coat. "Do your best to be careful."

Then he departed.

Hatori then proceeded to snuff out his cigarette, get up from his chair and carry the sleeping Ichigo to the guest bedroom. As he placed her down on the bed he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Was he betraying his family by helping someone in need? Or was he really just being selfish? He wondered how much Akito and Kureno knew and if Shigure really knew as little as he said to. As he exited the room and shut the door softly behind him, he sighed and looked out the window at the now gusting snowstorm that seemed to represent the tumultuous thoughts of himself and the people around him.

_**A/N: Okay, so I finally updated this. Sorry for the severely long wait. ^-^; This fanfiction I had started on whim and had no idea where I was going with it, leading to me leaving it dormant for forever. O-O Regardless, I'd like to finish this. I hope everyone will be patient with me; I will try my best. Thank you all for reading. :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

**_I do not own Fruits Basket or Tokyo Mew Mew_**

As time went on, Hatori decided it would probably be best to work on getting Ichigo to leave his house. If Akito did know about Ichigo, Hatori was sure it was dangerous business for Ichigo to be around the Sohmas. He knew he needed to figure out a way to get her to go back to her own home.

Oddly enough, one cold Saturday morning, when Hatori awoke Ichigo had disappeared.

Hatori was thorougly puzzled.

Had she decided to go back home finally? Perhaps she had gone to see her friends at the cafe. He sat and pondered this over a cup of coffee. Dark thoughts began to creep into his head.

Had Kureno come and taken her? Had she been kidnapped? But there were no signs of a break-in or a struggle so that was impossible. Wouldn't he have heard a ruckus? She probably just went home.

Hatori wondered how she could have snuck out so quietly. She was nimble and quiet, like a cat. She said "nya" a lot too, just like a kitten. Hatori smiled thinking about the young girl's cheerful smile and curious, cat-like eyes. He felt a little lonely. He just couldn't shake the thought that something could've seriously gone wrong and he didn't know it. Just where was she?

Unable to bear it anymore, Hatori rose to his feet, got his coat and set off to find the girl.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tohru Honda, the girl who was staying with Shigure and his two cousins, was running a few errands in town.

"Let's see," she was saying to herself, as she walked. "I need some eggs, some rice, some fruit and maybe a little-ah!"

She was caught off guard by the feeling of something ramming into her.

She fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ouchie, nya!" she heard someone say.

Tohru looked to see a cute girl with auburn pigtails on the ground in front of her.

She must've been the one who bumped into her.

"Are you okay?" Tohru asked.

The girl held her hand where a scratch was. She looked at Tohru sadly and then got up and hurried away.

"Ah, wait!" Tohru began to follow the girl.

The girl kept running from Tohru, as fast as she possible could, until she tripped and fell facedown on the ground.

Tohru rushed to the girl and knelt down beside her. "Oh no, are you hurt?"

The girl started crying in frustration and sadness. "I-I'm trying to get away."

Tohru looked around in confusion and then back at the girl. "From who?"

"From my friends, nya."

"Why do you want to do that? Are they being mean to you?"

"No, I have to get away, so I can protect them! Because I don't want them to end up like mama and papa and Masaya!"

Tohru tried her best to comprehend this. As she thought about it, she remembered seeing something on the news about a murder of a girl's parents and her boyfriend. Could this be that girl?

"I was being really selfish," the girl said through her sobs. "I left because I didn't want anything to happen to my friends, and then I met Hatori-san. I thought I could stay with him so nothing would go wrong, but then I realized that I might be putting Hatori-san in danger too. He's so nice, I don't want to do that, but now I don't know where to go..."

"But everyone will miss you if you leave, right?" Tohru asked.

"Miss me, nya?"

"Yes, because, it's just as terrible as if you're dead! If no one knows where you are and they can't talk to you or see you then it's just like you don't exist. I think everyone would be very sad."

"But what if someone else comes to hurt my friends? They don't even know why the other person did what they did! Anyone could attack at any moment!"

"When people work together-when friends and family work together, anything can be accomplished, right? At least, I'd like to believe that."

The girl looked at Tohru for a moment, then wiped her eyes and smiled.

She touched Tohru's hand. "I'd like to believe that too."

Tohru smiled back at the mysterious girl.

"I'm Ichigo," the girl said.

Ichigo? Tohru thought for a moment. Shigure had been talking about an Ichigo. She was supposed to be staying with Hatori. Was the Hatori-san this girl mentioned Hatori Sohma?!

At that moment, as if to answer Tohru's question, Hatori came around the corner.

Hatori saw Ichigo and seemed to be instantaneously filled with relief. He called her name.

Ichigo started for a moment, and then rose to her feet and embraced him.

"E-eh?!" Tohru was hit with a wave of confusion.

So Hatori knew the girl from the news and she was staying in his house? Also, when she embraced him, he didn't change? Why? What was going on?

"H-Hatori-san?" Tohru managed.

"It's you," Hatori said. "Tohru-san, did you find Ichigo?"

Tohru laughed a bit. "Well she sought of found me."

Hatori smiled a little and thanked her.

He was mostly absorbed with Ichigo though, and didn't say much else.

Ichigo waved goodbye to Tohru before taking Hatori's hand and walking off with him, leaving a confused but happy Tohru waving back.

**_A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for reading. Everyone R&R! And thanks a lot to any of you older readers who are still reading this. Woot! :D_**


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